The Southern Oregon Timberjacks were a

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

team in the

northwest The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A '' compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west— ...

United States, based in

Medford, Oregon Medford is a city in and the county seat of Jackson County, Oregon, in the United States. As of the 2020 United States census on April 1, 2020, the city had a total population of 85,824, making it the List of cities in Oregon, eighth-most populo ...

. The team played in the

Class A-Short Season Class A Short Season (officially Short-Season A) was a level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States from 1965 through 2020. In the hierarchy of minor league classifications, it was below Triple-A, Double-A, Class A-Advanced (crea ...

Northwest League The Northwest League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Northwestern United States and Western Canada. A Class A Short Season league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseba ...

and were an affiliate of the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...

for 21 seasons. They played their home games at Miles Field in south Medford.

Team history

The Timberjacks came to Medford to fill the void left by the departed Medford Giants (1967–1968) and Rogue Valley/Medford Dodgers (1969–1971), both of the Northwest League. Originally known as the Bend Timber Hawks for a season in 1978, owner Doug Emmans relocated the team south and it became the Medford Athletics (or A's) in 1979. A name change to Southern Oregon Athletics (or A's) came in 1988, and then a new nickname of Timberjacks in 1996 for their last four seasons. They were six-time southern division champions (1981–1984, 1988–1989) and won the league championship twice (1981 and 1983). In 1982, Medford had the highest winning percentage of any team in professional baseball. In 1982, former minor league pitcher Fred Herrmann was named the team's general manager and then became the team's majority owner in 1985. As a minor league baseball franchise, the A's and Timberjacks had featured future major league players such as Greg Cadaret, José Canseco,

Rod Beck Rodney Roy Beck (August 3, 1968 – June 23, 2007), nicknamed "Shooter", was an American professional baseball relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the San Francisco Giants (–), Chicago Cubs (–), Boston Red Sox (1999–) and ...

, Scott Brosius,

Jason Giambi Jason Gilbert Giambi (; born January 8, 1971) is an American former professional baseball first baseman and designated hitter. In his Major League Baseball (MLB) career, which began in 1995, Giambi played for the Oakland Athletics, New York Yank ...

Tim Hudson Timothy Adam Hudson (born July 14, 1975), nicknamed "Huddy", is an American former professional baseball pitcher of Major League Baseball (MLB). After spending his college years at Chattahoochee Valley Community College and Auburn University, H ...

, Terry Steinbach,

Jason Windsor Jason David Windsor (born July 16, 1982) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. A right-hander, he appeared in four games in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics in 2006. Early life Windsor attended Leigh High ...

Miguel Tejada Miguel Odalis Tejada ( Tejeda; born May 25, 1974) is a Dominican former professional baseball shortstop who played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for six teams, most notably the Oakland Athletics and Baltimore Orioles, before ...

, and Eric Byrnes.

Relocation controversy and stadium demise

In 1997 and 1998, Herrmann had announced that the team would relocate to

Vancouver, Washington Vancouver ( ) is a city on the north bank of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington, located in Clark County, Washington, Clark County. Founded in 1825 and incorporated in 1857, Vancouver had a population of 190, ...

. However, the plans fell through on both occasions and the team remained in Medford. Finally on October 26, 1999, Herrmann announced that the franchise would relocate to

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, and in 2000, they completed their move and were renamed the "new"

Vancouver Canadians The Vancouver Canadians are a Minor League Baseball (MiLB) team located in Vancouver, British Columbia. They are members of the Northwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. The Canadians play their home games at Nat Bail ...

. The previous Canadians franchise was the Athletics' Class AAA

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

affiliate, which was sold and moved to California and became the

Sacramento River Cats The Sacramento River Cats are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and are the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. Prior to 2015, the River Cats were the Triple-A affiliate of the Oakland ...

. Both teams continued to be affiliated with the

Oakland A's Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...

until 2011, when the Canadians became affiliated with the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...

. The current Canadians do not show any history or records of the Timberjacks at their official website, though their relocation is mentioned one time on the media guide page. Herrmann did attempt to bring a

Western Baseball League The Western Baseball League was an independent baseball league based in the Western United States and Western Canada. Its member teams were not associated with any Major League Baseball teams. It operated from 1995 to 2002. The league was fou ...

team to Medford to replace the Timberjacks (Despite long standing rules that prohibited affiliated owners having a financial interest in independent baseball teams). However, those plans fell through when the potential owners, including Herrmann, failed to come up with the money necessary to establish a team.Medford Mail Tribune: Herrmann shut out on new team
(March 30, 2000) After four years without a professional team and despite efforts to rebuild and restore historic Miles Field, the city of Medford ordered the deteriorating stadium be torn down in 2004 to make way for a new

Wal-Mart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores in the United States and 23 other ...

SuperCenter. In 2004, the city council of Medford orchestrated an agreement with the new Harry & David Field that a professional team will ''not'' be allowed to play at the new ballpark which currently hosts the collegiate wood bat Medford Rogues, the

American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is an Voluntary association, organization of United States, U.S. war veterans headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. It comprises U.S. state, state, Territories of the United States, U.S. terr ...

baseball Medford Mustangs and youth baseball. Despite previous efforts to bring pro baseball back to Medford, the decision stands to this day. The agreement is a moot point as the Northwest League has stated that Medford is not a city that would be considered for expansion.

Season-by-season record

Notable alumni

(1986-1987) 3 x MLB All-Star *

Mike Bordick Michael Todd Bordick (born July 21, 1965) is an American retired professional baseball shortstop. He played in Major League Baseball from 1990 to 2003 with four teams: the Oakland Athletics, Baltimore Orioles, New York Mets, and Toronto Blue Jays ...

(1986) MLB All-Star * Scott Brosius (1987) MLB All-Star; 1998 World Series Most Valuable Player * Eric Byrnes (1998) * Greg Cadaret (1983) *

Jose Canseco José Canseco Capas Jr. (born July 2, 1964) is a Cuban-American former professional baseball outfielder and designated hitter who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). During his time with the Oakland Athletics, he established hims ...

(1983) 6 x MLB All-Star; 1986 AL Rookie of the Year; 1988 AL Most Valuable Player * Ron Coomer (1987) MLB All-Star *

(1992) 5 x MLB All-Star; 2000 AL Most Valuable Player * Ben Grieve (1994) MLB All-Star; 1998 AL Rookie of the Year *

(1997) 4 x MLB All-Star; 222 Wins * Gerald Laird (1999) * Charlie O'Brien (1982) * Steve Ontiveros (1982) MLB All-Star; 1994 AL ERA Title * Craig Paquette (1989) * Lenn Sakata (1988, MGR) * Scott Spiezio (1994) * Terry Steinbach (1983) 3 x MLB All-Star *

Kevin Tapani Kevin Ray Tapani (born February 18, 1964) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the New York Mets, Minnesota Twins, Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago White Sox, and Chicago Cubs from 1989 to 2001. Early life Tapani was ra ...

(1986) *

(1995) 6 x MLB All-Star; 2002 AL Most Valuable Player * Todd Van Poppel (1990) * Dave Veres (1986) * Luis Vizcaino (1997) * Curt Young (1981)

Former players

* Medford A's players (1979–1987) * Southern Oregon A's players (1988–1995) * Southern Oregon Timberjacks players (1996–1999)

References

External links

Southern Oregon Timberjacks
Minor League Geek
Southern Oregon Timberjacks' original website
(archive.org)
Southern Oregon Timberjacks' profile at Minor League baseball website (1998)
(archive.org)
Southern Oregon Timberjacks year-by-year records, statistics and rosters at The Baseball Cube

{{s-end Defunct Northwest League teams Sports in Medford, Oregon Defunct baseball teams in Oregon Oakland Athletics minor league affiliates Professional baseball teams in Oregon 1978 establishments in Oregon 1999 disestablishments in Oregon Baseball teams established in 1978 Baseball teams disestablished in 1999